Comparison of Rainfall Products Derived from TRMM Microwave Imager and Precipitation Radar

Abstract
Satellite remote sensing is an indispensable means of measuring and monitoring precipitation on a global scale. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) is continuing to make significant progress in helping the global features of precipitation to be understood, particularly with the help of a pair of spaceborne microwave sensors, the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) and precipitation radar (PR). The TRMM version-5 standard products, however, are known to have a systematic inconsistency in mean monthly rainfall. To clarify the origin of this inconsistency, the authors investigate the zonal mean precipitation and the regional trends in the hydrometeor profiles in terms of the precipitation water content (PWC) and the precipitation water path (PWP) derived from the TMI profiling algorithm (2A12) and the PR profile (2A25). An excess of PR over TMI in near-surface PWC is identified in the midlatitudes (especially in winter), whereas PWP exhibits a striking excess of TMI over PR around the tropical ra... Abstract Satellite remote sensing is an indispensable means of measuring and monitoring precipitation on a global scale. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) is continuing to make significant progress in helping the global features of precipitation to be understood, particularly with the help of a pair of spaceborne microwave sensors, the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) and precipitation radar (PR). The TRMM version-5 standard products, however, are known to have a systematic inconsistency in mean monthly rainfall. To clarify the origin of this inconsistency, the authors investigate the zonal mean precipitation and the regional trends in the hydrometeor profiles in terms of the precipitation water content (PWC) and the precipitation water path (PWP) derived from the TMI profiling algorithm (2A12) and the PR profile (2A25). An excess of PR over TMI in near-surface PWC is identified in the midlatitudes (especially in winter), whereas PWP exhibits a striking excess of TMI over PR around the tropical ra...

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